Dead Men Tell no Tales
by Yeo-Sama
Summary: I've got some free time so I'm actually going to write an intelligent summary for this! A story about vengence and second chances that focuses on Kuja and his secret admirer.::Dramatic chord:: Review cause you love me!...or not...
1. Default Chapter

Dead Men tell no tales  
This story is psycho, psycho, psycho!!!  
Blah...I have no life. See people? This is what too much caffeine and fried foods do to you!   
  
  
Prologue:  
In a cold, lifeless, shadowy part of the world, the land lay in an unusual silence. No birds would fly there and no animal or beast would there tread. No travelers would wander across the forgotten paths that crisscrossed the land. It was an ominous silence.   
The battle had been fought. The victors had long since departed and those who had failed remained in eternal rest. The only sounds were those the wind made as it blew over rocks and broken pipe reeds.   
Below in the roots of the withered Iifa Tree, a young woman walked gracefully, casually, as if the history of the dead monolith meant nothing to her. Her long blond hair flowed behind her, sometimes falling across her dark blue eyes. Most striking about her appearance, though, were the wings that ruffled at her back. An angel. A follower of Alexander. She seemed to float rather than walk. Her white and gold dress billowing a bit in the breeze. She was surrounded by a gentle aura that made her glow softly. The angel's eyes scanned the dead tree roots. She was looking for a specific place. Her mouth was drawing into a frown. "Where are you?" She asked, her voice echoing off into the silence. "Why can't I find you?" She looked up. The browned leaves that still clung to the tree's branches blotted out the sky. She spread her beautiful white wings and floated up into the air. "I'm coming for you my love. Have no fear, for I will find you." Her voice was like a song without music. Haunting and sweet.   
She drifted to a place that had caught her attention: a small pocket in the roots. She landed on the dry moss. Her eyes sad, she went to a figure lying on the ground. "So there you are. I have been looking for you." She knelt and held his upper body in her arms. "Look at you. You must have been dead for over a day now." The body was pale and stiff, but she smiled and traced his lips with her forefinger. "My dear Kuja. You were on my mind from the day I first laid eyes on you. So beautiful, feral, dangerous...what I always wanted."" She kissed him gently, lacing her fingers through his matted silver hair, "yet you chose to consort with that madman Garland, and that fool brother of yours." She leaned her cheek against his cold forehead and closed her eyes, rocking back and forth slowly. "You feared death, yet could not escape it. Now look what has happened to you. You were supposed to be mine." She laid him back down, then lay down next to him, and rested her head on his stomach. "Mine forever. A man as beautiful as you should not have died...Will you not awaken for me? Please awaken." She traced her lips down his lifeless body, "awaken for me, and take back your lost soul. The soul that will return you to the man which I so desire!" She kissed down his side.   
Kuja's eyes flew open, but where the eyes should have been there was only blackness. The lids blinked over empty sockets. "Yes." The angel whispered, "awaken for me!"   
He sat up. She floated back into the air. He looked up at her and stood. He leaned his head back, the bones cracked a few times, satisfied, he returned his attention to the angel hovering above him.   
"Now you are awake," she smiled. His empty eyes betrayed no emotion. "Do you know me?" She asked.   
  
Without moving any facial muscles, except those that worked his mouth, he spoke, "Vatica."   



	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
Disclaimer: As much as I hope and wish, I do not own these characters. ::sigh:: Ah well, can't win 'em all. All pathetic attempts at poetry are mine unless other wise noted.   
  
"Kuja! No!" Queen Garnet cried in her sleep. She sat up in a cold sweat. Realizing she was in her own bed -chamber, safely within the walls of Alexandria Castle, she relaxed. "I suppose it was all just a dream," she said to herself. She lit her lamp and got out of bed. The dream had disturbed her, but she didn't know where it had come from. Garnet went to her window, trying to think of an answer. A vision of Alexander, the Holy Eidolon, came into her head. She jerked is surprise. 'Could it have been Alexander who sent me this dream?' She wondered.   
  
  
"EEEEKK!!! No! You stupid lady! Ahhh!" Eiko kicked and shrieked.   
  
"Eiko! Eiko, wake up!" Regent Cid called.   
  
"Hey!" Eiko woke up suddenly. She saw Cid, looking very concerned, standing over her. "Oh, Father, it was terrible!" She wrapped her arms around his neck.   
  
"What was it Eiko?" Cid asked.   
  
"I don't know! It was a dream! I saw the Iifa Tree, and some glowing lady, and Kuja! Then I saw Alexander! I think it was a warning! A warning from Alexander! Kuja's alive again!"   
  
"Kuja?" Cid looked her in the eyes, he shook his head, "Eiko...Kuja died at the Iifa Tree a long time ago."   
  
"I know!" Eiko insisted, "I know he was dead, but he got brought back to life!"   
  
"Eiko, I'm sure this was all just a bad dream."  
  
"Why don't you believe me?!" Eiko cried angrily.   
  
Cid looked sympathetic, "I don't know...come now, think about it." He smiled warmly, "why would Kuja be alive again? Who would want to bring him back?"  
  
Eiko sighed. She lowered her eyes, then brought them back up to meet Cid's gaze, "...Vatica..."   
  
  
"And so the tables have turned...That meddling Alexander, trying to take what is mine! HE'S MINE! MINE! MINE!!!!!!!!!" The beautiful angel grabbed at her hair; "YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM!" Her voice calmed, "you are the meddling fool," she said in a voice that dripped with malice, "you are the incompetent one." Her eyes widened and she screamed again, "NO! YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM FROM ME!" Vatica stamped her foot. She shrilled madly again, but suddenly, as if someone had pushed a button, she stopped. "None of you deserve him," this time her voice was gentle and sweet, "it was I who found him. Can't you all see that this fighting is..." The malicious voice cut in, "idiot. You're so sweet I'm getting cavities." She began to rave again, "YOU'RE ALL CRAZY!!! I DESERVE HIM! ME! HE'S MINE!!!"   
  
From the shadows he watched her madness. Hollow eyes staring in a continuous gaze. A body without a soul. It had been Vatica who had chosen to return there, to the Desert Palace. She had situated herself in the old throne room where she dictated her demands. Cobwebs had overrun the place; she only used that one room. He observed her everyday from his usual place next to the throne. Her screaming, whining, and vicious personalities exploding every few minutes. She was, in short, a schizophrenic. An angel without the grace of Alexander, she had fallen from his favor, to be left on Gaia where her personality had split into three. Her resentment of him made her mad with vengeance and rage. Of course, Kuja could not comment or have any thoughts of his own. He was Vatica's puppet, her toy that she flung about, doing her every command.   
The insane angel's rage calmed. She pulled a piece of hair behind her ear, rose from her seat, and strode gracefully toward him. It had been like this everyday for a long time. Every night she would send him out into Gaia, to find his soul. "Tonight will be the night of glory," she cooed, "you will finally find your soul and be truly alive. Then we will go together and unseat that pompous Alexander. You and I together will rule Alexander's heaven...we will have our revenge." She smiled, as she did an equally sinister grin appeared on Kuja's face. This is how she did it, she tapped into his dead mind and took control, moving him where and how she wanted. "Now go." She said, "find what has been stolen from you."   
Kuja walked to the teleport panel on the floor. He stepped onto it and in a flash of blue light, disappeared.   
  
The teleporter panel brought Kuja to the streets of sleeping Lindblum. The moons glowed over the quiet city, much of which was still under repair. "We've been through these streets a million times before...," he said. Of course it was really Vatica, whatever she said came out through his lips. She moved him down through the business district, glancing down the dark alleys every now and then. "This is pointless..." she complained. She turned his head toward the castle. "Why didn't I think of it before?" His mouth asked, "what better place for a lost soul to hide than in the presence of nobility?"   
He flew up into the air, black eyes locked on the towering Lindblum Grand Castle. Back in the Desert Palace, Vatica watched through his eyes, "now I will finally have what I deserve!" She directed him to one of the stained glass windows on the castle walls. Without stopping he crashed through it.   
  
"What's going on?!" A guard hurried down the long hallway.   
  
"Blast it..." Kuja spat. He turned to the guard.  
  
"Who are you?" The man demanded. He drew up his spear in front of him.   
  
Kuja put his hands up, a smirk on his face; "looks like you caught me..."   
  
"That voice...I know you from somewhere..." the guard said fearfully, "back when I was in Alexandria..." his face contorted with terror, "no...it can't be!"   
  
Kuja grabbed the guard by his throat, raising him off the floor. He dropped his spear and tried to break out of Kuja's grasp. "So you recognize him..." Vatica's words came out through Kuja's mouth, "isn't he wonderful...soon we will rule all of Gaia...but you won't be around then. Such a pity. It will be a glorious day..."  
  
The guard's brows furrowed in confusion, "w-what?..."   
  
"You're the first to learn of our plan...if I let you go, you would tell the Regent, and wouldn't the Regent be surprised...but dead men tell no tales." Kuja's hand tightened around the guard's throat. He gagged and sputtered, legs kicking furiously. Kuja squeezed until blood spurted from the man's mouth and from behind his eyes, his tongue lolled out of his mouth. He stopped struggling and hung from Kuja's fist like a sack of linen. Kuja dropped him and continued down the corridor. "These mortals are truly pathetic..."  
Vatica moved Kuja down a flight of stairs, past some patrolling guards, and to a large set of doors. "Now what could be in here?" she wondered.   
Kuja broke the lock on the door and stepped inside. A large canopy bed was next to the wall. He moved closer to see who was there.   
  
"...Yuck...what's that smell?" Eiko opened her eyes. She sat up and squinted in the darkness. She saw someone standing near by. "Who's there?" The moonlight fell across Kuja's face. Eiko's eyes widened, "EEEEEEEKKKK!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed.   
  
Down the hall some guards heard her, "Lady Eiko is in danger!" They took off to her room.   
  
"Little Eiko the Summoner..." Kuja mused, "now I remember you...you were one of the brats that murdered my dear Kuja!" Vatica's rage began to build again, she started to rave madly, "YOU KILLED HIM AND NOW YOU'LL DIE!!!"   
  
"You're crazy!" Eiko screamed, "you better leave me alone!"   
  
Kuja lunged at her; Eiko jumped away and ran for the door. He caught her by her arm; "you will be punished!"   
  
"You let me go!" Eiko screeched. "Mog! Help!" From under the floor came a rumbling noise like a stampede. Eiko's guardian Mog rose up from the floor, fangs bared, glaring at Kuja. Mog seized Kuja by the shoulders and flung him against the wall. She roared furiously and with a well placed backhand, sent him crashing through the wall. He was knocked clear to the outside, where the forces of gravity sent him plummeting several hundred feet to the streets far below.   
Mog disappeared into the shadows, leaving Eiko alone. At that moment the castle guards ran in, accompanied by Regent Cid and Hilda.   
  
"By the gods! Eiko, are you alright?" Cid ran to her.   
  
Eiko's lip trembled, her expression was a mixture of fear, anger, and triumph, and "I told you!" She said loudly, "I told you he was alive!"   
  
"Who?" Cid asked.   
  
Eiko looked at him incredulously, "Kuja! I told you! I knew it!"   
  
"Kuja? Could it have been..."   
  
"Sire!" a guard came into the room, ashen faced, "Ralf is dead...we found him in the upstairs hallway..."   
  
"What?" Cid picked up Eiko and turned to the man.   
  
"Come see Sire! Whoever was in here obviously broke in through a window on that level. Ralf must have gone to stop them...but whoever they were, they must have gotten the better of him..."   
  
"Father, don't leave me!" Eiko clung to his robe, "I know it was Kuja, I saw him. He was right in here. Mog saved me from him."   
  
"First things first," Cid said, "I want Hilda and Eiko taken to Alexandria immediately, until we find out what exactly is going on, who it was, whether it be Kuja or some other villain, and what they wanted in Lindblum Castle!"   
  
  
"You incompetent fool!" Vatica raged, "how did you let him get caught?!" She cringed, "it wasn't my fault!" Back to anger, "then who is to blame? Certainly not I. How could I let you idiots take such matters into your own hands?" Back to innocence, "I'm telling you it wasn't my fault!" She began to weep. Her anger took over again, "you cry like an infant! All because you cannot admit your own folly!"   
"I can admit when I'm wrong...and I am not wrong."  
"Now, because of you fools, our secret is out! It will only be a matter of time before we are found out!"  
"No, the mortals would never find this place...Why is it that I am always the one to blame?"  
"ALL IS LOST!" She wailed, "BUT THEY SHALL NOT HAVE MY BELOVED!"   
"Silence! You disgust me with your mad raving!"   
Vatica's three other personalities gave themselves no names other than what that personality was. They called themselves Innocence, Malice, and Rage.   
Vatica rose from her throne. She brought her hand to her temple, "I am in control..." she said quietly, "...let me carry out my own plans..."   
Malice snorted, "why should I do that? You have failed miserably. Perhaps you should let me try, I never fail."   
Vatica held her head high, "I conceived this plan, and I shall carry it out!" She went to the teleport panel, "bring Kuja back here!" she commanded. The panel glowed blue, Kuja's broken body appeared on it.   
"Look what Innocence has done." Malice said darkly.   
"It was not I!" Innocence said defensively.   
Vatica knelt beside Kuja. Broken bones protruded from his flesh, dark blood oozed from the open wounds. "How could I have let this happen..." Vatica asked herself shamefully, "why is it we always hut the ones we love..." With her immortal strength, she picked him up and gazed painfully at his face. His empty eyes were still halfway open; he was still drawing ragged breaths. Vatica held back tears and carried him away into the cold silence of the Desert Palace.   
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Garnet sat at her vanity, staring into her own eyes in the mirror. She rhythmically brought her brush through her long ebony hair. She was still thinking about her dream. Ever since she had learned of her past she had learned to take her dreams more seriously, to consider if they might mean something. She pulled her hair back in a clip, set her brush down, and looked at herself in the spotless glass. 'Can I believe anything anymore? Maybe everything is only a dream."   
  
There was a knock on the door, "Your Majesty, the Lady Hilda and Lady Eiko of Lindblum just arrived." General Beatrix informed.   
  
Garnet stood up, "is there a problem?"   
  
"Yes," Beatrix responded, "it seems someone broke into Lindblum Grand Castle last night, and the Regent had them sent here."   
  
Garnet hurried out her door, Beatrix followed the queen to the throne room where Hilda and Eiko were waiting.   
  
  
Lost wanderer forgotten   
Never seen never heard   
Wandering forever  
Denied by heaven   
Falling up   
Forsaken dream   
Forsaken hope  
Alone with the grief   
Digging a deeper grave for yourself   
Resentments, recants come too late   
Where will you go lost wanderer?  
Down the road of sorrow?   
Up the path of regret?   
Nobody to confide in   
Nobody who cares...  
Now where will you go?  
To never...?  
Maybe tomorrow will tell...  
Until then lost wanderer weeping   
Must remain betwixt heaven and hell  
  
  
Zidane listened with interest as Eiko told of the events in Lindblum. He remembered all to well the last moments of Kuja's life. When the rage of the Iifa Tree had tried to swallow them both. He had survived, Kuja had not.   
Eiko finished her story, she looked hopefully at everyone, "...and that's exactly what happened."  
  
Zidane rubbed his chin, "so you think it was Kuja, huh? Well, if it is I'll find out what he's up to."   
  
"It's odd..." Garnet commented softly, "that on the same night Lindblum Castle was broken into, I had a strange dream...about Kuja."   
  
Eiko's eyes lit up, "hey, yeah! So did I!"   
  
"You both had the same dream?" Hilda asked.   
  
"I'm not sure." Garnet said, "In my dream I was at the Iifa Tree, and there was a woman in a long white gown-  
  
"With wings and blue eyes!" Eiko cut in.   
  
"Y-yes..." Garnet couldn't believe what she had just heard; "she was looking all through the roots of the tree...for Kuja."  
  
"And when she found him he was all dead and nasty!" Eiko added, "and she started making out with him!" All eyes turned to her. "Well she did!" They all turned back to Garnet.   
  
She nodded, "yes...she did."   
  
"So let me make sure I got this," Zidane said, "you both had the same dream, about some angel who is looking for Kuja, and when she find him, he's dead, but she starts doing weird stuff with him?"  
  
Garnet shrugged, "I suppose that's it."   
  
"And on this same night, the Regent's castle is broken into, one of the guard's necks is crushed, and Eiko is attacked..." Zidane scratched the back of his head, "am I the only one who thinks that there's more to this than it seems?" There was a stony silence. "So, what do we do now?..........come on people! It's not that bad! We'll think of something." He thought for a moment, "Hey! You know who I think would be a big help?" No answer. "That old scientist, Dr. Tot!"   
  
Eiko brightened, "that nerdy old guy with the big glasses?"   
  
"Eiko!" Hilda scolded.   
  
"Sorry Mother. That's who you mean though, right Zidane?"   
  
"Yup!" Zidane beamed, very proud of himself, "I bet he knows all sorts of scientific stuff about dreams and angels and such."   
  
"He might." Garnet agreed, "we should see him."   
  
Steiner, who had been listening from beside Garnet's throne spoke up, "I shall send for Dr. Tot immediately your Majesty." He bowed and hurried out the door.   
  
Garnet sighed heavily; "I can't believe this...Beatrix?"  
  
"Yes, you Majesty?"  
  
"Will you please escort Lady Hilda and Eiko to the guest rooms?" Then to Hilda she said, "I apologize for any inconvenience, we're still under reconstruction."   
  
"It's alright. I understand." Hilda smiled. She and Eiko were led out by Beatrix.   
  
Zidane's shoulders sagged, "I'm sorry," he said.   
  
"For what?"  
  
"For being such a loud mouth. I know that I should take stuff more seriously, but...I've always taught myself to cover up any bad feelings I had, and just laugh."   
  
Garnet leaned against his chest; "I know how it is." She said sadly, "I have to wear a mask all the time. The people expect a lot from me, so I can't ever seem afraid or lost...but I guess that's the price I have to pay, for caring so much about my country."  
  
  
Innocence washed Kuja's wounds, tears streaked her face, "how? How could I have let such harm to come to him?" She held him in her lap, cradling him like a child.   
"Enough of your pathetic sniveling!" Malice snapped, "what's done is done. Now the mortal band that drove away Necron knows that Kuja is back. We much eliminate them, or Alexander's heaven will never be ours." The voice echoed in the vacant hallways.   
Vatica kissed Kuja's forehead, "why must I be cursed?" she whispered, "all I want is to have heaven as my own, with my love beside me...why must I be cursed with this illness that drives me mad? Why must I be split?" She looked at Kuja in her arms. She cast a cure spell on him to heal the rest of his injuries. "I deserve heaven. I deserve it because only I have the sense to rule it...and you will share it with me..."   
  
  
And so the darkness settles in   
You want to die but you want to live  
Suffer the pain but continue to fight   
Or be at rest and succumb to the night.  
  
"An angel you say?" Dr. Tot curled his mustache with one finger.   
  
"Yes, that is the ways she appeared in my dream." Garnet answered. Dr. Tot had just arrived from Treno; he Garnet, Eiko, and Zidane were in the Alexandria library, looking for books that might help explain the past events.   
  
"You believe that Lady Eiko and yourself both had the same dream?"   
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, it's not unheard of," Tot said, "but the possibilities for you both to have a similar dream are off the wall, but for the dreams to be identical...well, the chances are one in billions."   
  
"I know it sounds nuts, but do you think you can explain it?" Zidane asked, "do you know anything about angels, or Kuja?"   
  
Tot took off his glasses and cleaned them on his robe, "angels yes, Kuja no. I do have some information on angels, but I know next to nothing about Kuja. Come with me to the history section." They followed him down the rows of books until they came to the history section, "what did you say the name of the angel was?"  
  
Eiko piped up, "Vatica."  
  
Tot nodded, he took a book off the shelf, "there are very few records of angels," he explained, "an angel is a soul that has been blessed by Alexander himself. For a soul to become an angel, usually it has to have been a righteous one that was pure and good." He flipped the worn pages of the book, "most of the time, only the great angels were recorded, but we might have some luck. I will take some books to my quarters to study, I will inform you of anything I find in the morning."   
  
  
Kuja stood on the teleport panel once more. He looked as though the fall from the castle had never even happened. Vatica put her hands on his shoulders, "now go out and find them." She said, "we must eliminate all obstacles." She took control of him again, "once Zidane and his followers are gone, heaven will be ours...forever."   



	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
Kuja moved like a shadow through Alexandria. Vatica knew that Zidane, Eiko, Steiner, and Garnet were in the castle. She knew that once they were taken care of Vivi, Freya, and Amarant would fall more easily. The castle was heavily guarded with watchmen at every window and doorway. Kuja slipped around a building and into a grate in the street. He dropped down into the catacomb-like sewers of the city. Water came up to his knees and rats watched from the cracks in the water-swelled walls. He moved in the direction of the castle, a snake ready to strike. (Actually I like snakes...wait, pay no attention to me, back to the story!)  
  
  
Garnet pulled her covers up around her head. Hilda and Eiko were in the guestroom down the hall. Steiner, his Knights of Pluto, and Beatrix were patrolling the hall nonstop. She could hear the clank of Steiner's armor and the click of Beatrix's boots as they walked by. Yet, there was still a feeling of insecurity.   
  
  
'Why Zidane...? Why? Even in death I am not free...Even when I am dead, I cannot know peace...I could not save myself, even by helping you escape your own death. Is it my destiny then, to spend eternity wandering the world, being surrounded by people who cannot see nor hear me...people whom I will never be able to touch or be close to? Why...?" In a back ally of Alexandria, a lost soul, weak with pain of the heart, sat crumpled in a heap far from the open streets. 'Life is so cruel...but death without the promise of rest is even crueler.' Kuja rose from his position, and looked at the castle, where he knew Zidane was residing. He still held a certain amount of contempt for his brother, but Zidane was not his enemy anymore. Hate was partially responsible for his death. "Why Alexander!?" Kuja shouted angrily at the sky, "haven't I learned my lesson yet? Haven't I suffered enough?" He knew that the words of a lost soul could only be heard by someone who wants to hear, and likewise, can only be seen by someone who wants to see them. Kuja was sure that no one in heaven or on earth wanted to hear from him again. He ran his fingers through his long silver hair, "so then, this is my fate." He laughed to himself, "...ah yes, heaven can be cruel...yet we all desire it...could that fit the definition of irony?" His expression reverted back to sadness, "...then since I have no chance at heaven, I should leave this city and move on...perhaps to a smaller town, where my memories will not haunt me so...but one last hurrah: I cannot hope to be granted Alexander's forgiveness, there is only one whose forgiveness I must have before I depart..."   
  
  
We live in hope of greater things  
But tomorrow usually sorrow brings  
Still we move on because we believe  
That a reward for our pains we will receive   
Some get what they desired  
Most will never reach the fire  
We greet new hopes with each sunrise  
But everyday ends and sunlight dies  
  
  
Deep in the under city, Kuja's body waded towards the castle storm drain. He could get in through the basement level. There was rusty iron grate across the drain. Kuja broke it with one strong kick to the foundation. He ducked inside and calmly climbed up out of a manhole in the castle basement. There were guards on duty at the staircase to upper levels. "No bother," Vatica smirked. She had Kuja simply fly straight upwards, keeping out of the torchlight. "This time when Alexandria falls, it won't get back up."   
  
  
The lost soul slowly made his way to Alexandria Castle. Before he moved on, he had to have the satisfaction that his past actions were forgiven. He calmly walked right through the castle wall. This was one ability that made being dead not so bad. The halls were well lit; the guards didn't want an intruder to have any chance of hiding.   
The castle was mostly completely restored. The floors were shined and the gold and silver polished. 'Well done Queen Garnet..." Kuja thought. He found the main foyer and the staircase to the upper floors. Two men were on duty at the foot of the stairs. Kuja went right past them.  
  
"Hey, you feel that?" One guard shivered.  
  
"Yeah, kinda chilly all the sudden." His companion agreed.   
  
Kuja smiled to himself; 'if only I were alive I'd give them something to shiver about.'  
  
  
Meanwhile, Vatica had found Garnet's bedchamber. Steiner and Beatrix were patrolling the hall, if she made her move they would catch her. She waited, hoping that there would be a moment when both of them had their backs turned.   
  
Beatrix stopped walking, she turned to Steiner, "do you smell that?"   
  
Steiner sniffed the air, "now that you mention it, yes...it reeks of rotting flesh in here, like a dead rat."   
  
Vatica fumed, "how dare they compare my Kuja to a rat!" She directed his body out from hiding. "They will pay!"  
  
"Who goes there?" Steiner drew his sword upon seeing Kuja standing down the hall. Beatrix stepped up beside him, weapon also drawn.   
  
"Oh such valiant knights..." Kuja taunted, "you rise so quickly to meet your deaths."   
  
"It is the villain Kuja!" Steiner exclaimed, "you will taste the wrath of my blade before this night is through!"   
  
"Should I be afraid?" Kuja asked.   
  
"Beatrix, stay here, guard the Queen!" Steiner said tersely.   
  
Beatrix nodded and backed away to Garnet's door.   
  
"This really is flattering," Kuja smiled, "I am now to face not only the Captain of the Knights of Pluto, but the General of Alexandria as well!" Malice was enjoying herself. She laughed at the two of them.   
  
"Enough of your chattering. Face me!" Steiner growled. He charged at Kuja and was about to strike when suddenly he reeled backwards, covering his nose and mouth, "that hideous stench is you?! By Gaia...Beatrix, beware! He is of the undead!"   
  
  
Garnet sat up fearfully; she could hear Steiner yelling outside her room. She grabbed one of her magical rods from beside her bed; she crept to the door and pressed her ear against it.   
  
  
Steiner held his sword in front of him. He gripped the hilt with both hands, eyes narrowed dangerously.   
  
"What are you waiting for?" Kuja asked.  
  
Steiner ran forward; "die villain!"   
  
Kuja stood looking very unimpressed. He held a hand out and with one flick of his wrist, cast a break spell on the charging knight. Steiner watched in horror, as his feet turned to stone. He used his legs to get in a few extra steps before trying to bring his sword down on Kuja's head. The spell worked its way up his body, he continued his downward swing, but soon he was completely turned to stone, his sword stopped only inches above Kuja's head. Kuja smirked at the petrified knight, whose face was frozen in an expression of rage.   
Beatrix held her own weapon out, blocking Garnet's door. She held her ground but she knew that she could not win alone. She called to Garnet, "Your Majesty! Kuja has entered the palace; I will try to hold him off! I swear by Alexander that I will not let any harm come to you!"   
  
  
"Beatrix, let me out! I can help you!" Garnet answered through the door.  
  
"I am very sorry Your Majesty, but I cannot do anything that may put you in danger!" The General responded stiffly.   
  
Garnet thought quickly, she knew that Beatrix would be killed if she tried to fight alone. Garnet considered her options; she could call for help, or try to do something. Calling for help might take too long, and put other lives in danger. So she held her rod and concentrated, 'oh Mighty Lord of Dragons, hear me! Help me in my time of need!'   
  
  
The air grew very still. Kuja stopped in his tracks. A sound like a falling bomb came from above. There was a horrendous crash as Bahamut the Dragon God blazed through the castle wall. He flared his gigantic wings and came to halt in front of Kuja. The eidolon opened his jaws and shot a devastating Mega Flare in Kuja's direction.   
  
  
"NO!" Rage screamed.   
Malice took over and jumped up from her seat, "no! Not this night Bahamut!" She used Kuja to cast an Ultima on Bahamut. The powerful spell hit the dragon squarely in the face. Bahamut's head snapped to one side, the Mega Flare was misdirected and hit Kuja only a glancing blow. He was thrown back several feet. Roaring in fury, Bahamut blasted Kuja again, this time only a scorch mark remained where the undead warrior had stood. With that, the Dragon Lord departed.   
The hallway of the castle was totaled. Dr. Tot, Hilda and Eiko came out and many of the Knights of Pluto arrived from different locations of the castle. Beatrix sighed in relief, but was very annoyed.  
  
"Why is it that the cavalry always comes too late?" She asked.   
  
"Many apologies ma'am!" A knight said, "is Her Majesty safe?"   
  
At that moment Garnet burst from her chamber. She looked at everyone, "where is he?"   
  
"I believe that Bahamut saw to it that Kuja was taken care of." Beatrix responded.   
  
"You mean I missed the fight?" Eiko asked. "Mother, you should have let me go out to help!"  
  
Garnet walked down the hall, or what was left of it. When she got to Steiner she cast Stona on him. Steiner came back to life swinging his sword wildly. "Take that you miserable coward!" He yelled. His sword cut only air, "where did that fiend get off to?" He demanded, then he saw Garnet, "Your Majesty, please stay away, it is too dangerous here!"   
  
"Calm down." Garnet said, "Kuja is gone."   
  
"What? Where did he go? I shall-  
  
"I think he's dead." Garnet said.   
  
"Well you're right about one thing..." a disembodied voice said smugly. From a hole in the ceiling, Kuja dropped out. He was even more battered and scorched than before, he held his shoulder where his arm was torn off. "Kuja is dead...but he certainly isn't gone."   
  
  
From below, the lost soul had heard the commotion from the battle upstairs. He flew up to where the fight had taken place. There wasn't very much left of that section of the castle. "Now what happened here?" Kuja asked rhetorically. There was the Queen, her General, the captain of Alexandria's elite knights, the Regent's wife and adopted daughter...but one person was conspicuously absent. "Where is Zidane?" Kuja was about to go and try to make himself known, when he stopped cold. "It can't be..."  
  
"Don't look so surprised everyone," Vatica sneered through Kuja's mouth, "you didn't really think a little fireworks from and eidolon would stop me did you?"   
  
"Kuja, what are you doing here?" Garnet asked fearfully.   
  
Vatica laughed, they hadn't caught on yet. "I brought him here."  
  
"Brought who?"  
  
"Kuja of course you nitwit!" Vatica snapped.   
  
"Why is he talking in third person?" Eiko raised an eyebrow.   
  
Dr. Tot's eyes widened, "wait, what did you say the angel's name was from your dream? It was Vatica wasn't it? Yes, then what I had assumed was correct. The fallen angel Vatica has assumed the body of Kuja."   
  
"Well, at least I know there's someone with half of a brain in here..." Vatica sighed. "Yes, I took what I deserved! What I wanted...and none of you can take him from me!" Rage took over, "NONE OF YOU!!! HEAVEN IS MINE!" She hurled a flare spell at them. Everyone managed to jump out of the way, but Rage was out of control, "NEVER! I WILL NEVER LET YOU WIN!" Using Kuja's remaining arm, she began to cast an Ultima, but Innocence stopped her, "Stop this! Why must you go on destroying like this? Not even Heaven is worth all of this! Look at all that you have done. Why must so many be hurt for this dream?" She turned Kuja's eyes away.  
  
"What's wrong with him...er...her?" Steiner asked, "is this some sort of trick?"   
  
"She's a schizophrenic," Dr. Tot explained, "her record was in one of the books I was studying. She was cast out of Heaven centuries ago. The shock of it split her mind into three personalities, Malice, Innocence, and Rage, and her mental complex is that she deserves everything she wants. She has been vengeful towards Alexander ever since then. She is the only recorded angel in history to have fallen so far out of grace with the Holy Eidolon."   
  
"You think you know me?" Vatica asked once she had control of herself again, "you can never understand. Heaven is rightfully mine! I should be the one to govern the ways of the souls of Gaia, and I shall do it with my beloved Kuja beside me!"  
  
  
Kuja felt very weak. He could see and hear everything that was said and done. There, at the end of the hall, was what remained of his physical body, seemingly possessed by an insane angel. The angel Vatica, he knew her, he had heard of her. She had failed to obey the wishes of Alexander and had been sent to Gaia for a while, but she had gone mad and was banished forever. Garland had briefly considered using her as a weapon against Gaia, but had concluded that she was too mad to be of any use. Kuja knew she wanted to conquer Heaven, he also knew such an ambition was ludicrous. One angel could not so much as annoy Alexander, perhaps that's why she had stolen his body. It still contained its powers; it could use the black magic she could not.   
  
"I don't understand this," Garnet said desperately, "why are you here?"  
  
"Because it is you fault he is dead," Vatica snarled, "you and your underlings murdered Kuja! You took him from me! It is because of you that he lost his soul and must wander alone!" She clenched her fist and shook it at them, "soon I will reunite his soul with his body, and then my dream of vengeance will be fulfilled!" She prepared to finish them; "unfortunately none of you will be around when my dream is realized..."  
  
"I don't think so!"   
  
Everyone turned quickly, a dark figure was standing in the shadows. Garnet called to him, "Zidane!"   
  
"So now you make yourself known..." Vatica glared at him, "perhaps I should kill you first, as you were the one who left my Kuja to die in the Iifa Tree."   
  
Zidane unsheathed one of his daggers. He held it by the blade and flung it at Kuja's body. The dagger struck him in the chest. Vatica screamed, Rage overwhelmed her and she lost contact with him. Kuja's body slumped onto the floor. An uneasy silence hung in the air.   
  
"...It seems that Vatica has left him..." Tot observed.   
  
"Well now what do we do?" Garnet asked.   
  
Zidane stepped up and faced everyone, "like you even need to ask," he said, "we're going after her. Who knows how long she's been at this, but I say it ends now!"   
  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
Devil take me by the hand,  
Angel take the other   
And as you guide me through my trials  
I'll be neither saint nor sinner   
  
  
"NOOOO!!!" Rage wailed; she tore at her hair. Vatica had lost contact with Kuja's body. Rage shot a random Holy spell; it lanced through the air and crumbled a pillar.   
Malice managed to get control, "Stop!" She commanded, "all will be well."  
"How?" Innocence asked, "Kuja is lost!"  
"He will come back to us...you cannot kill what is already dead."  
  
  
Kuja was in a state of disbelief. He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. There was a monstrous hole in the side of the castle where Bahamut had burst in. The whole West Side of the castle itself was just a hollowed out shell. Anything wooden or glass had been annihilated, the only parts of the structure that survived were those made of stone and metal. Zidane was standing over Kuja's body.   
  
"Stay back," Tot warned, "he is still alive."  
  
"How can he be?" Zidane asked, "not even an undead could survive that."  
  
Tot shook his head; "he is not the usual form of walking dead. A Holy Spirit brought him back, cure spells, medicine, and weapons cannot destroy him. He is only knocked out, he will awaken soon, and then he will return to the one who gave him life."   
  
"So he's going to go back to Vatica?" Zidane said, "so, like, how do we kill him?"  
  
Kuja bristled, if only they knew he was there, then they might choose their words more carefully. Didn't anyone care?   
  
"There is only one way," Tot sighed, "we must reunite his body and soul. He will go through a cycle of rebirth and be truly alive once again...then we must kill him while his soul is in his body."   
  
"How dare you speak of me in such a way!" Kuja roared. He stepped up to Tot, who of course could not even see him. "You really think that I would allow you to kill me?! Do you honestly think you could?! You are an even bigger fool than I first made you out to be!"   
  
"Wouldn't bringing him back be doing just what Vatica wanted?" Garnet asked.   
  
"To do such a thing would be insane!" Steiner exclaimed, "if that scoundrel were alive again, what is to stop him from bringing more terror and destruction? And with Vatica around, what is to stop him from joining her and helping her despotic plan come to be? That villain would never pass up a chance to rule all of Heaven and Earth!"  
  
"Incompetent morons!" Kuja spat, "am I that shallow? Do you think that I would repeat my mistakes?"   
  
"No, I don't think he would do that," Zidane said thoughtfully, "when I last saw him alive at the Iifa Tree, he told me he had finally learned what it means to live, and he saved us remember?"   
  
"Perhaps," Garnet said, "but what about Vatica?"   
  
"In my research I found out quite a bit about angels," Dr. Tot informed, "there may be a way, but I doubt my books survived any of this..."   
  
"So there is a way?" Eiko asked, "tell me how and I'll do what ever I can to help."  
  
"The only way to be rid of Vatica is for Alexander to pass Holy Judgement on her." Tot explained, "only he can curve her immortality. Yes Eiko, you and Queen Garnet may be very much help. Alexander appears to favor you, he may respond to a request from the two of you."   
  
"What will you do with me?" Kuja asked. Even if they couldn't hear a word he said, it was impossible not to say anything when it was your fate being discussed.   
  
"...Your attempts are vain and unrealistic..." Kuja's body sat up suddenly. Everyone drew their weapons and stayed back. "Such pathetic mortals will never be able to destroy an angel..."  
  
"I thought you said Vatica left him!" Zidane said tersely.   
  
"She did, I imagine this is the body itself speaking to us!" Tot said.   
  
"Why can't you miserable people understand?" Kuja's empty eyes narrowed, "there is no hope for you..."   
  
  
Innocent blood to stain mortal hands  
Innocent blood to poison mortal lands  
Innocent blood to destroy mortal souls  
Blood to spill on Heaven's door  
Immortal creature cast down from grace  
Never can look you in the face  
Shame and heartbreak take a toll  
With no home to return to   
Where will you go?   
Angel are you?  
Or devil in white?  
Deserved is you madness?  
Or is it evil of spite?  
  
  
Malice paced around the dark throne room. Her eye twitched every few seconds, "he'll be back..." she told herself.   
"Can't you ever face your own mistakes?" Innocence asked.   
"The mistake was not mine!"  
"Then whose was it? You were in control for the majority of the time, you -  
"Will you shut up!?"  
Vatica sat down on the damp stone floor, she arched her wings up over her head, "my dream is falling apart so quickly...why? What have I done wrong?" She gritted her teeth; "it is my destiny! I was meant to be a god...wasn't I?" Her aura was the only light in the palace. Except for the rats she was alone in the gloomy darkness. She missed Kuja terribly already. "I wasn't supposed to be alone..." She wiped her nose, "I deserve what I want! Heaven is mine!"   
"You just keep telling yourself that...," Innocence said sadly. "It's been centuries and we have never gotten any closer. We take one step forward, and two steps back...that's the way it has always been."   
"My dream is not in vain!" Vatica cried. She jumped up and screamed at the ceiling, "the only vain dream is the one that was never attempted! I have attempted! What I want can be realized!"   
  
  
Kuja watched as his body slowly advanced towards Zidane and Garnet. It pulled the dagger from its chest. The blood that oozed out was almost black and had the consistency of tar, indicating that it hadn't flowed in a long time. "I will have my soul...but first...all of you will die..."  
  
Kuja reached out, "stop!" He expected the body to be deaf to him and keep going, but its head turned and its eyes widened. Kuja moved back. It had heard him.   
  
"I can't believe it. I thought I would have to spend an eternity looking...but here you are..."  
  
"What's he doing? Who's he talking to?" Zidane wondered aloud.   
  
"Tell me," Kuja's body smirked, "why do you come here? Is it because you care for the lives of these pathetic mortals? Does guilt for what you had done in the past bring you to this place? Or was it just meant to be?"   
  
"What's going on?" Eiko demanded.   
  
Garnet squinted at the spot Kuja was talking to. She didn't see anything at first, but after a moment, she could make out the outline of someone standing there. "Zidane, look..."  
  
"I don't see anything," Zidane shrugged, "what do you see?"   
  
The outline became more solid as the figure stepped into the light. He was transparent, like one would expect a ghost to be, tall, with long hair and flowing sleeves. She gasped, he turned his childlike face to her, exotic eyes locked on hers. She nudged Zidane; "It's Kuja..."  
  
"I can see that," Zidane gestured in the undead's direction.   
  
"No, I mean, it's almost like he's a ghost or spirit. He's standing right next to the wall."   
  
Dr. Tot drew in his breath; his gaze fixated, he also saw, "it is true. It is his soul."   
  
"So you all can see me?" Kuja asked, "...well then why are you all just standing there? And what have you done to my body?!"   
  
"I still don't know what you guys are talking about!" Zidane complained.   
  
"A lost soul can only be seen by those who want to see." Tot said.   
  
Zidane considered this: if it was, did he want to see Kuja again? He sighed, yes, he did. And with that thought Kuja's shadowy outline appeared before his eyes, "well I'll be damned..."   
  
"This truly is a day of glory," Kuja's body said, "now there will be nothing that can stop the fall of Alexander. I will have my soul back!" He reached his hand out. "Come back to me!"   
  
"Hold on just one-  
  
Tot cut Zidane off, "no, let him go."   
  
The genome whirled, "what?!"   
  
"It seems that there is a loophole our 'friend' has overlooked..."   
  
"What?"   
  
"This will get very unpleasant..." Tot grimaced.   
  
Kuja was shocked as his empty body grabbed him by the wrist. He thought it was impossible for those of the physical world to connect with those of the ethereal plane. "The body and soul are inseparable..." his body commanded Eiko, "you, the Summoner, give me a Phoenix!"   
  
"No way!" Eiko glared.   
  
"Do as he says," Tot said.   
  
Eiko looked baffled, "you want me to help him?" but she closed her eyes and gently blew into her flute she always kept by her side. As the song played, a ball of fire materialized in front of them. The Phoenix burst from it, rainbow feathers shining.   
  
"I beseech you great Phoenix, rejoin my body and spirit! Let me be born again!"   
  
Kuja tried to pull away, he couldn't believe that everyone was letting this happen, "have you all gone mad?!"   
The Phoenix flew into the air; it began to glow red and orange. A deafening roar erupted as a sea of flames engulfed the castle.   
  
"The cycle of rebirth has begun," Tot yelled. The others shielded their eyes from the blaze.   
  
The Phoenix screeched and sent a stream of fire down onto what was left of the hall floor. The flames swirled around. Kuja's soul and body were forced back together. The fire spun around them and exploded in a ball of fire. "What?!" The body cried fearfully, "no! Stop! It's not supposed to be this way! STOP!" The wall of inferno grew until Kuja was surrounded in a funnel of fire. The others watched in horror as his body caught fire. The flames burning away his flesh and skin. He screamed piercingly and fell to the floor. The fire seared away all but his bones. So that there was a skeleton struggling amongst the white-hot fire.   
  
"Oh my God!" Garnet choked on the smoke.   
  
The funnel became opaque and folded around Kuja, forming an egg shape. The screaming stopped and the fire died down until the egg looked like a ball of cooling lava. The Phoenix observed its work; it folded its wings and dove straight down on the molten ball of fire. It exploded into hundreds of burning pieces; the Phoenix swooped up and gave a last cry before vanishing in a flash of red.   
No one could find words. All faces were pale and agape with shock. The place where the egg had been still glowed orange and yellow. Zidane cautiously came forward, "...Kuja?" He squinted in the light. "Kuja, are you there?"   
  
The ethereal glow faded, revealing Kuja, standing at its center. Kuja looked slowly at everyone, astonishment on their faces. What had happened had felt like a dream, and now he was awakening. He stopped his eyes, a small smile tugged at his mouth, "...bravo Zidane..." His eyes rolled up in his head, his legs gave out and he fell forward. Zidane reached out and caught him. 'Bravo indeed. It seems as though all that occurred after the battle with Necron was merely intermission...on to the final act...'   
  



	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
  
"No..." Vatica moaned, "He's not coming back..."  
"I knew this plan was futile," Innocence said, "why do you keep lying to yourself?"   
"IT'S OVER! ALEXANDER WILL HAVE OUR HEAD! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" Rage shrieked.   
"Are you addressing me?" Malice hissed, "the fault lies not with me. We will have our Kuja back...and Alexander will pay for leaving us behind on Gaia."   
"I will wait one more day..." Vatica said, "then I will have to flee. Alexander has finally decided to acknowledge me...he will punish me if I do not avoid him."   
"You're going to give up on our chance at Heaven?!" Malice exploded, "How could you? Idiot! We will stay here until Kuja returns! Then our plan will take flight!"   
"There is no 'we'!" Vatica shouted, "there is only 'me'! Leave me alone! Go away! Why must I be cursed with you?" He voice echoed off the throne room walls.   
"You call me a curse?" Malice growled, "you are the disease that infects this body! I am perfect, it is the rest of you that are useless!" She snapped her wings open, "if Kuja chooses not to return then so be it! I can take Heaven alone!"   
  
  
Sing me to sleep  
Sweet songs of death   
Lulling me away  
Dreaming of never  
Torn fragments of memories   
Drift away  
Sing to me softly   
Sad songs of living   
Struggle for liberty   
Never becoming   
Walking into now  
Forgetting what was   
Sing for me beautifully   
Voices of the dying   
Cries of the dead  
Unfulfilled longing   
Sleeping so soundly   
Remembering where the paths went  
Sing songs of tyranny   
Words of the wise  
Whispers in silence  
Softly crying   
Sing for me   
While I die  
  
  
The dark slowly gave way to light. A distorted image of a man in black armor as seen through water. The hum of machinery warbled by the fluid. Voices that just barely made sense:   
"...Excellent specime....but still imp...fect.........Kuja...."   
To the right was another tube filled with liquid, the man in black looked into it, "....New angel of death.......perfe.....Zidane....."  
  
The picture faded back into black. Light came again, this time there was a battle. Four people attacking, their motions blurred together. A figure in white and red struck by a dagger.   
"I won't die alone! You're all coming with me!" A brilliant blast of light, then:  
  
"...I finally learned what it means to live...I guess I was too late..." Again the scenes blacked out. There was no light for a while. Only silence and darkness. A flash of red cut the endless night of death. Fire leapt up and swallowed the entire field of vision. The intense heat and horrible pain of the flames blended with fear and hate. The dark came again, soon to be followed by light, but for how long? Intermission was over. The audience was watching, the stage was set, and the cast was ready to perform.   
  
  
"I'm alive...a second chance...my hat is off to you Vatica. Without you I would never have been granted this great fortune." Kuja opened his eyes. "I was born, I was killed...only to be born again...is this what life is?" He was in a room of Lindblum Grand Castle. It was plain, windowless, and practically empty. Only a bed and bureau and a bookshelf, boring white washed walls and ceiling. He got up, when he did his spine cracked, "To be made of flesh and blood again..." Kuja ran his hand through his hair to untangle it, "is it a privilege or a burden?" He swung his legs around to the side of the bed and got up. It was satisfying to hear the clicking of his boots on the marble floor. He went to the door but found it locked. He frowned, "how unoriginal..."   
The bookshelf had a few books on it, Kuja examined them, "...World Atlas.... Encyclopedia of Modern Technology...bah...hmmm, 'The Complete Works of Lord Avon'" Kuja took the book from its place and opened the worn yellow pages. In the table of contents, he found 'I want to be Your Canary.' He turned to the final scene and read one of the lines, "'Oh love is the sweetest joy and the wildest woe'...if only they knew..."  
  
  
"He's not coming back." Vatica wept in the loneliness of the palace, "I should go back and beg Alexander's forgiveness..."   
"Never," Malice said sharply, "it was the fool that left us alone on Gaia to go mad! He never once tried to help us; he ignored our pain and fear. It is up to us to dethrone that tyrant and start anew!"   
"Stop saying 'us'! I am myself! Leave me!" Vatica wailed, "the plan has been destroyed! I cannot win!"   
"WE WILL DIE! DIE AND BE LOST FOREVER!" Rage mourned.   
"It's not over." Malice insisted.   
"Yes," Innocence said knowingly, "it is."   
  
  
"Sire, Kuja has awakened."   
  
Regent Cid rose from his seat, "good. I must speak with him." He was joined by five guards and headed to Kuja's room. The Regent was nervous. He didn't know exactly what to say to someone who had tried to destroy his country, but had then saved his niece's comrades from certain death. Zidane had assured everyone that Kuja had changed, but still, Cid was harboring many fears.   
A guard opened Kuja's door. He was sitting by the bookshelf on a crate he had located, legs crossed, book held out in front of him with one hand, reading quietly. Cid took a deep breath; he cleared his throat, " ahem." Kuja turned slowly. He put his book down and stood. Cid tried to sound casual, "well, long time no see..."   
  
"So it would seem Regent." Kuja responded.   
  
Cid raised an eyebrow. Kuja's gaze made him shiver; he feigned a cough to break eye contact. "Um...I hope my accommodations have been acceptable?"   
  
"Certainly." Kuja nodded, "but, I'm sure you didn't come here for small talk. I mean no disrespect, but I suggest you get to the point."   
  
"Oh, of course." Cid flushed, "uh...I came here to discuss some...business. As you have already figured out, Queen Garnet brought you here from Alexandria. As active government officials who have suffered huge casualties under your attacks, we thought that-  
  
To the Regent's surprise, Kuja came forward until only a few feet of space was between them. The guards tensed, but Kuja dropped to one knee and held his head low, "I do not deny the crimes against the peoples of Alexandria, Lindblum, Burmecia, and Cleyra. I am willing to accept any and all punishment necessary in seeing that justice is served."   
  
Cid was flabbergasted, he stumbled over his tongue, "I-I-I...uh...g-good..." He straightened his shoulders, "I shall...consult with Queen Garnet, and we will see what she says. Until then you are restricted to this room."   
  
  
"Well it's just like Dr. Tot said: there was a loophole. Kuja's body may have been under Vatica's influence, but once it was rejoined with the soul, the soul took over." Garnet explained to Hilda. "So now he is free of her."   
  
"You were very fortunate." Hilda said.   
  
Cid returned to the castle conference room. Zidane kicked the heel of his boot against the wall, "well?"  
  
"We went through what I wanted to say. He was very agreeable. Humble, actually..." Cid said.   
  
"Humility from Kuja. There's something you don't see very often." Zidane mumbled.   
  
"He said that he would accept any punishment that we saw fit for him," Cid sat down, "now what that punishment should be, I am not sure."  
  
"What about Vatica?" Garnet asked, "she's still out there."   
  
"I agree," Steiner said, "we should concentrate on finding that woman! We have Kuja locked up here in Lindblum, but Vatica is still free."   
  
"But where do we start looking?"   
  
  
"They say the dead speak not...but is the dead that have the most to say," Kuja said to himself, "I finally can converse with others again...yet they lock me up in a cell. The reason the dead to not talk, is because no one will listen."   
  
  
"The Desert Palace," Dr. Tot said when he arrived in the castle conference room. "Our Vatica has an obsessive disorder. There is actually more information on her than I thought. It seems that her current obsession is Kuja. There fore it would make sense that she would be at the Desert Palace, which was his former residence."   
  
"It's as simple as that, huh?" Zidane said.  
  
"Yes."   
  
"So what do we do?" No one had an answer to that.   
  
"We know the location of the Palace," Steiner pointed out, "we should send a fleet and blast her out!"   
  
"No," Garnet shook her head; "Vatica is too strong. She would only get mad and destroy the attack force, which would mean more casualties."   
  
"Well, we can't just sit around here and yap," Zidane commented, "we gotta do something."  
  
"I believe that we will need a certain amount of force," Steiner said, "that is the only way to get to her!"   
  
"There has to be a different way."   
  
"She certainly isn't going to open her doors and invite us in!" Steiner bellowed.   
  
Zidane glared. He looked at the floor, ".....That's just what she's going to do."  
  
"What?"  
  
"She's going to open up and take us right in."   
  
  
O, thou weed,   
Who art so lovely fair and smell'st so sweet  
That the sense aches at thee, would thou hadst ne'er been   
Born!  
- Shakespeare's Othello, Act IV. Scene II  



	7. Final Chapter: Cycle of the Phoenix

Final Chapter:  
Cycle of the Phoenix  
  
"Oh wonderful," Kuja sighed, "so let me get this straight: if I'm not Garland's puppet, then I'm Vatica's, and if I'm not hers, then I'm yours. Sounds lovely."   
  
"No, no it's not like that!" Zidane tried to explain, "look, Vatica has a serious obsession for you, and you're the only one who she'd let in. All we want is for you to go to the Desert Palace, have Vatica let you in, and then keep her guard down while the rest of us sneak in."   
  
"So I'm your trump card," Kuja smiled, "I'm the easy way in."   
  
"Well, you don't have to-  
  
"I didn't say that," Kuja held a hand up, "I never said I wouldn't help you. I'm just making sure I got everything."   
  
"So you'll go?"  
  
Kuja lowered his eyes; "yes...I have to. Not only do I now owe you a life debt, but also I must avenge myself...Vatica used me to commit inexcusable crimes, I must pay her back."  
  
  
Vatica was crouched on the floor, hugging her knees; Malice had more or less taken over. She hummed quietly to herself, a dark grin on her face. "They'll all be back. So quickly the moths rush into the flames...In no time at all those meddlers will seek me out. It's a shame that such a brilliant plan can so quickly fall into shambles."   
"Everything ends." Innocence said.  
"Yes," Malice smiled, "everything must end...so that something new can begin. When Alexander is gone, I will be the new."   
"Why can't you give up?" Innocence asked, "you call us fools, when you are the biggest of us all?"  
  
By now everyone had gathered on the Hilde Garde 3 and was on the bridge. Their plan was complete: flush Vatica out, have Alexander pass Judgement on her, and be done with it. It sounded so elementary, but they all knew it would be a trial. Zidane noticed something, "isn't Alexander dead?"   
  
"No," Eiko said, "all the Eidolons are eternal and invincible. Alexander got beat up, but he's not dead. He can't die."   
  
Kuja listened through the wall. He was locked up again in a room next to the bridge. It was insulting to be kept out of the conversation and planning that would decide his fate, but he already knew his role in their little drama. He would be let down near the Desert Palace, get inside, keep Vatica's guard down to allow the others time to get in, and help keep her out until Alexander could be summoned. But Kuja wasn't just insulted that they wouldn't let him be with them on the bridge, he was hurt. They didn't trust him; it was as simple as that. The nagging voice in his head that said 'no one cares' was at its loudest. So he sat and leaned against the wall, banging the back of his head against it a few times. He still hadn't carried out his original purpose for being in Alexandria. Everything moved so quickly...no one stopped for a moment just to talk or think, it was always rush, rush, rush! Straight into the jaws of oblivion.   
The clamor of voices on the bridge, all the talking of where to go, what to do, how to do it, was almost overwhelming. Kuja was surprised when his door was opened and Garnet came in accompanied by two soldiers. He smirked to himself, 'what, has the little bird come to sing for me?'   
Garnet motioned for the soldiers to leave. When they had gone, she sat down on a chair opposite Kuja. He sat up straight, "what do you want?"   
  
"I came to listen," she said, "because no one else would."   
  
This caught Kuja a bit off guard, "...to listen?"   
  
"I know you have a lot to say," Garnet folded her hands on her lap, "I know that we haven't been exactly fair. So tell me what you have to say."   
  
He laughed lightly, "I've been alive for less than two days and I'm already being used. Nobody pays me a bit of mind other than to interrogate me. I'm locked up and guarded like a beast and kept out of what is clearly my concern. So now you come to listen to me...lovely."   
  
Garnet rose, she sighed, "I'm sorry..." she started to leave.   
  
"No!" Kuja realized that he had been letting his nature get the better of him, "please don't leave." Garnet stopped and sat back down. "I apologize. Please stay with me." He looked into her questioning brown eyes; "I do have a lot to say. More than you'll care to listen to, I'm sure, but I do have something to tell you." She waited patiently. Kuja took a deep breath, "Your Majesty, the reason I had returned to Alexandria.....was because I needed your...your forgiveness for what I had done. I know that you have no reason to forgive me, but I had planned to leave forever and do my wandering elsewhere, so I came to ask you..." A nervous lump rose in his throat, he wasn't used to apologizing and begging, he couldn't find the right words. " I know that I was responsible for your mother's death...both of them, and..." His eye twitched, his frustration was building, and he knew he sounded like a fool. "...And..." Now the tears were starting, his whole face contorted with anger as he controlled himself to keep from throwing a temper tantrum and blasting a hole in the ship.   
  
Garnet stood up. She watched Kuja, who was tripping over his own words and doing his best to be polite. She could sense his frustration and knew that he wanted to start screaming. She pitied him. Seeing him as he was, she knew that he was truly defeated. She took his hand and held it between both of hers. He stopped twitching and looked down at her. She returned his gaze, "you are forgiven," she said simply. Then she turned and left him alone.   
  
  
I welcome the dark   
The darkness in me  
I shun the light  
The light that blinds and exposes  
With open arms I receive the abyss  
Let it surround me   
With its cold  
Not with heat   
That burns and scalds away my flesh   
I hate the light and its heat  
Into the dark   
I welcome the dark   
Where eyes are blind and only the heart sees   
Where harsh glares are hidden   
Where you can't see what kills you   
Yes, I welcome the dark  
  
  
The airship landed in the desert near the mountain entrance to the Desert Palace. The sand swirled up into the air. Those on board the ship shielded their eyes from the blasts of sand. "Remember what to do," Zidane instructed Kuja, "get inside, keep Vatica's guard down, then teleport us in when the coast is clear."   
  
"Yes, Mother," Kuja said sarcastically.   
  
Zidane laughed, "alright, good luck! We're behind you all the way!"   
  
Kuja stepped back on the deck. A blue glow surrounded him, and in a flash, he was gone.   
  
  
Kuja appeared inside the Palace. He was home. There was a familiar feeling to it, but to his dismay he found that most of it had been overgrown with Iifa Tree roots. The ornate wall patterns and architecture were split and cracked where vines had burst through. The air was dank and musty, Trick Sparrows swooped overhead and disappeared into the shadows. Kuja frowned and continued with his part. Vatica would be in the throne room. His room. He could feel her presence, ominous yet warm. He proceeded down the dark hallways, feeling the eyes of the beasts that had overrun the place. 'I'm coming back to you, dark angel.'  
  
  
Vatica raised her head; "he's here...he came back."   
Malice said, "what?"  
"I can sense him. He is so close," she jumped up from her seat. Her heart thumping, "he's here!" She lighted from the floor and flew high into the air, "I knew he would return!"   
She lit the room with a flash of white light that lit the torches. She hovered, waiting for him. She strained to hear in the silence. Anxiety and hope made her wring her hands in anticipation. "There is something different about him...he feels...alive..."   
Malice gasped, "there is a life force coming from him...a soul."  
Vatica's heart leapt, "he has found his soul! He is alive again!"  
"It can't be..." Innocence said.   
"Believe it!" Malice said triumphantly, "our avenger has returned to us!"   
  
"I'm home." A disembodied voice called.   
  
Vatica watched intently as the doors to the throne room opened slowly. From the dark portal stepped Kuja: alive and flawless. Vatica sank to the floor in disbelief. He was coming toward her, like...like and angel. She managed to form a crooked smile as he reached a hand out to her. "You came back to me." She looked into his eyes, taking his hand. They were no longer the sunken black pits in his face, but lovely pools of blue.   
  
Kuja resisted the urge to spit when Vatica took his hand. She was exceptionally beautiful, true, but there was a darkness that radiated from her like a light. Her touch made his skin crawl. Still, he let her get as close as she wanted, playing his role perfectly. This would be the best opportunity to get the others inside. "Of course I came back," he said, "how could I resist a chance like this? To rule heaven...it sounds so deliciously...evil."   
  
Vatica pulled away from him, "evil? No, I am not evil."   
  
  
Blue circles of light appeared beneath the feet of Zidane and company. They felt themselves lift off the ship's deck before the intense light blocked all vision.   
Soon they felt the ground beneath their feet. Zidane looked around, "we're inside," he said, "let's head to the throne room. We gotta wrap this up quick before Vatica catches on."   
  
  
"Alexander left me," Vatica wept into Kuja's arms, "he cast me down to earth and let me go mad! I begged him to forgive me; I tried a thousand times! A thousand ways! He always ignored me! I meant nothing to him!"   
  
Kuja felt a sting as he listened to the fallen angel's words: 'I meant nothing to Garland...' He felt...what was the word? Pity? Did he pity Vatica? For some reason she didn't feel so foul when she pressed herself against him. He gently touched her golden hair.   
  
"But I have you back, and now Alexander will pay!" She laughed through her tears; "I was nothing to that tyrant. I was just one miserable soul to cast aside. He didn't need me. But he will regret this day!"   
  
  
Eiko peeked though the open doors of the throne room. "All clear!" She whispered to her comrades.   
  
"Good," Zidane said quietly, "when we go in, everyone spread out. We're gonna hit her hard, then summon Alexander. We got one shot, or else she'll turn us into cinders." He slipped thought the entrance and side stepped with his back to the wall, keeping in the shadows. Garnet, then Steiner, then Eiko and Beatrix followed him. Vatica was still enthralled with Kuja and paying no attention.   
  
"She's beautiful," Garnet commented softly.   
  
"Yep, just like a cone shell," Zidane said, "so pretty to look at, but if you're not careful, you'll end up dead."   
  
  
Vatica giggled like a little girl; "perhaps my dream shall come true after all." She opened her wings to encompass Kuja and herself. "Nothing is impossible. I believe that now."   
  
By now a large knot of guilt had formed in Kuja's gut. He could sympathize with her motives, and understood what she felt. 'No,' he told himself, 'she is not like me. I learned when I was wrong, she will never learn. She cannot learn.'   
  
"What's wrong?" Vatica noticed the grim look on Kuja's face.   
  
"Nothing." He replied. He smiled down at her. She looked so happy, so innocent... it almost made him feel bad to deceive her...almost. So he had pity for her, so he could relate...so what? It didn't change what she had done.   
  
"What are you thinking?" Vatica asked. "...Do you doubt me?"   
Rage burst out suddenly, "IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" She tore away from Kuja and fell back on the floor; "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" A wild look came across her eyes and she stared at Kuja's stunned face.   
  
  
"Alright, opportunity knocks but once," Zidane said quietly, "let's go!" He held his Ultima Weapon firmly and ran towards Vatica. The others followed after him. He drew the translucent blue blade and prepared to strike.   
  
Vatica noticed movement, her head snapped around as if she had been slapped. Her eyes widened, "NO!" She leapt up into the air just as Zidane swiped the place where she had been. She snarled, "so the moths have reached the flame, and now their wings will catch fire and burn!" She flattened them to the ground with a holy spell. "You dare defy me? You think you can defeat me? I am a goddess!"   
  
"No, you're insane and lost!" Zidane said with equal anger.   
  
"Ha! Your words mean nothing to me," Vatica laughed, "I have what I want... however, I have been expecting you, and I will not soil my hands on mortals like you! But do not be fooled: you will die...Come forth Apocalypse!"   
  
A deafening roar erupted from the depths of the Palace. A thick haze poured from the darkness and wrapped itself around everything in the throne room. It was similar to Mist, but thicker. It choked the lungs and made the eyes burn like smoke. Garnet coughed and rubbed her eyes, she felt an ominous presence in the shadows: an Eidolon, a dark god of death. A huge shape emerged from the fog; it looked like a black Behemoth with a blue mane, but it walked on its long hind legs only. Its build was that of a man, with massive clawed hands that held a silver staff. "Defiers of fate," it spoke in a voice that shook the walls, "for your impudence, the gods demand your blood."   
  
"What the hell is that?!" Zidane exclaimed.   
  
"Really bad!" Eiko said.   
  
"Eiko," Zidane looked down at her, "find Dagger! This is not going well! Find her and summon Alexander!"   
  
"What are you going to do?" Eiko asked.   
  
"Don't worry," Beatrix and Steiner ran up along side Zidane, "we'll take care of this beast!"   
  
Vatica laughed cruelly, "you cannot win!"   
  
Kuja watched, should he drop his cover and help, or stay where he was and continue his act? He called up to Vatica, "is this necessary?"   
  
She floated down to him and smiled, "only when the unjust have fallen, can the heavens be ours."  
  
"The...unjust?"   
  
"The world is unjust," Malice said bitterly, "this world, it spawns such beings of hate and cruelty, then can't understand why they kill and ravage. You can understand...you were cast aside, unwanted, your true potential wasted." She took hold of his chin to turn his eyes away from Apocalypse, "I want to destroy the unjust, those who create, but cannot face their creations, and instead neglect them and let them go mad!"   
Vatica frowned, "the creators...like Alexander, who was responsible for my rage, but did nothing to help..."   
  
"You say that the world is unjust...and want to take over heaven to cleanse it..." Kuja said quietly, "...so many will be killed. Will there ever be an age without war? The ignorant strive for power, never realizing that what lies beyond is despair."   
  
"What are you saying?" Vatica asked suspiciously.   
  
He kissed her forehead, "nothing at all. This will truly be a day of glory..."   
  
  
Apocalypse stared at his opponents, very unimpressed; "this is your end."   
  
"Not today," Zidane said, "we are not afraid."   
  
The dark god raised his staff, "valiant...foolish..."   
  
The three rushed forward, weapons held high. Apocalypse stood where he was, not budging an inch. Zidane leapt into the air and brought Ultima Weapon down with all his strength, but it was as if he had hit a brick wall. The blade glanced off without leaving a mark. Steiner and Beatrix were no luckier. Despite their best efforts, none of them had so much as annoyed the creature. They stood back.   
  
Apocalypse settled his unwavering gaze on them; "you cannot defeat me. There is nothing you can do. For you, hope is dead."   
  
"No!" Beatrix shook her head, "we will never submit to that!" She charged Apocalypse again. With a flick of his wrist, he sent her sprawling across the floor.   
  
  
Eiko wandered through the thick fog, searching for Garnet while avoiding Vatica and Apocalypse. "Garnet!" She hissed, "where are you?" She couldn't see more than a few feet in front of her, "where are you?"   
  
"Eiko!" Garnet answered, "over here!" The young summoner ran to her. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Yeah," Eiko said urgently, "we're in a lot of trouble! Zidane said to summon Alexander!"   
  
"But Vatica knows that we are trying to stop her!"   
  
"That's why we gotta do it now," Eiko held her hands out, "just like we did last time."   
  
Garnet took her hands, "alright." The two of them closed their eyes and called to the Holy Eidolon, hoping he would respond.   
  
  
"Look at them," Vatica said, "they are so eager to die!"   
  
Kuja watched as his brother was knocked aside like an insect by Vatica's Eidolon. His eye twitched, "must they all die?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Vatica said incredulously, "of course they must!"   
  
"Zidane is my brother...I can't watch him be killed."  
  
She held his face in her hands, "then don't watch..."   
  
Kuja felt a wave of rage, but he suppressed it. She was sick. "You're...evil..." he said under his breath.   
  
"What?" Vatica asked. But her attention was drawn to a circle of light in the haze. She squinted to get a better look. Her mouth curled in a viscous snarl, "the summoners..."   
  
  
A powerful backhand knocked Zidane away. Apocalypse stood over his fallen challengers. They were beaten and battered, ready to give up. The dark god knew he had won, but watching them struggle, still hoping, amused him greatly. From the opposite side of the room, Vatica called, "finish them now! We have little time!"   
  
"Steiner...Beatrix, get out of here!" Zidane ordered. "I'll hold him off..."   
  
"I will not abandon a comrade!" Steiner said stubbornly.   
  
"Dammit Rusty! For once will you just listen to me!"   
  
Apocalypse began to glow. Rays of purple and red light shot off him and collected together near the ceiling. In a burst of light, the Ultima spell exploded, sending bolts of energy crashing down. Zidane gave Steiner and Beatrix a shove and knocked them away. "What are you doing you fool?!" Steiner demanded.   
  
Zidane braced himself for the Ultima. The spell hit him. It felt like a bomb had went off in his chest. He couldn't even scream, only stand helplessly as his vision faded to opaque red, then to black.   
  
  
  
Garnet heard the explosion, her throat tightened, but she concentrated on summoning Alexander. 'Please be there...' She prayed silently.   
  
Kuja let his breath out hard. He watched Zidane crumple to the ground. Malice crowed, "truly pathetic! Look how easily they fall!"   
  
Kuja resisted the urge to tear her heart out. He walked silently past Apocalypse, and knelt by Zidane. He called to him, "Zidane? Zidane!?" He shook him, "Zidane!" He gave the boy a hard smack across the face, but got no response. "Damn you Zidane!" He hit him again. Still there was no response. He ran his hand through Zidane's hair, then sighed and looked away. 'Is this sadness? Is this what it means to be sad? Does it always hurt so badly?'   
  
Vatica stood behind him, "do not grieve for this mortal," she said, "he is but a small sacrifice for the glory we will bring to this world."   
  
Much to his own surprise, Kuja started laughing, it echoed in the dark. He whirled on her, "'a small sacrifice?'" He shrilled on a voice that edged on hysteria. "You...you are a demon!"   
  
"Are you betraying me?" Vatica asked.   
  
"No," Kuja said, "I'm going to kill you." He picked up Zidane and carried him to the throne, where he placed him in the seat, out of harm's way. He turned and looked Vatica in the eye, "now I will make you a 'sacrifice.'" He lanced a flare spell at her.   
  
"YOU TRAITOR!" Rage roared, "I WAS GOING TO GIVE YOU EVERYTHING!"   
The voice of Innocence, which had been silent for so long, now spoke up; "we had nothing to give. We have been living a lie for centuries. Our efforts were in vain: now it will end."   
  
  
"Did heaven look on and would not take their part?"  
  
-Macbeth, Act IV, Scene III   
  
  
Garnet ran out of the fog to where Zidane lay. She gasped when she saw him, but quickly cast a Life spell on him. His eyes blinked, and he sat up. "What was that?" he rubbed his head, "...Dagger! What happened? Where's Eiko? Did you summon Alexander?"   
  
"Yes," Garnet said, "we called to him, we used all the power we had to try to summon him, but I don't know if he heard..."   
  
Having overheard, Vatica sneered, "you idiots! Alexander will not listen to you! He cares only for himself! If he would not listen to the cry of me, one of his angels, why would he heed you?"   
Suddenly a Flare Star hit her from behind; she fell from the air and landed hard on the stone floor. Kuja hovered above her. "You!" Vatica growled, "why?! I was going to hand Heaven to you on a plate! How could I have let myself love? I should have known: I am alone!" She blasted him with a holy, "Apocalypse! Kill him!"   
  
"You think you are alone?" Kuja said, "I lived my life in greed, fear, and hatred. I spent my death wandering in misery and self-pity! Now I live again, and I can understand what it means to be alone. You are not alone! You had the opportunity to seek help, but you let yourself sink into the deepest layer of hell! I could have helped you. I will...if you let me."   
  
Tears poured from Vatica's eyes; "I've had enough of you!" She screamed, "now die!"   
  
Eiko, Steiner, and Beatrix joined Zidane and Garnet. Eiko cried, "what do we do now?"   
  
Apocalypse raised his staff and pointed it at Kuja, "dark spirits of the underworld, take your next prisoner..."   
  
"No!" Zidane started to run forward, but the others held him back.   
  
"Don't be a fool!" Beatrix said, "you cannot help!"   
  
  
Black lightning shot from Apocalypse's staff, Kuja responded with another Flare Star. The two spells collided in a brilliant flash of light. A shockwave ripped through the palace, tearing away stones from the structure. The ceiling was blown off and it rained stone. When the light faded, Kuja was still holding his own against the dark Eidolon. But it was obvious that Apocalypse wasn't even trying.   
  
"C'mon! We gotta go help!" Zidane cried.   
  
"There is nothing we can do." Steiner said coldly, "we would only be killed ourselves."   
  
Kuja poured all his strength into his spell; his long silver hair blew back and whipped behind him. 'I can't win...' he thought, 'all I can do is hold him so the others can escape. One last flash of glory...'   
  
"Kuja!" Zidane tore away from his friends.  
  
"Zidane?" Kuja turned his head.   
  
"Hold on! I'm coming!" Zidane ran towards Apocalypse.   
  
"Silly boy," Vatica frowned, "you certainly are a tenacious one..." She raised one hand and gathered another holy spell.   
  
From the corner of his eye, Kuja saw Zidane leap at Apocalypse, and Vatica preparing to vaporize him. 'What do I do?' His mind began to race, 'if I don't intervene, Zidane will perish, and his comrades will have to suffer the consequences...On the other hand, if I stop Vatica, he can survive, and I will die.... And no one will miss me.' At that thought, he turned his attack on Vatica. It hit her full on, she screamed and her holy spell was misdirected. It missed Zidane and crashed harmlessly into the wall. But at the same time, the black magic that Kuja was trying to hold off hit him. The black bolt struck him in the stomach, causing him to double over. Remarkably, there was no pain. He felt dizzy and unaware.   
  
Everything seemed to stop. Zidane looked up at Kuja: he was floating silently, still alive, but it was as if he didn't know what had happened. Kuja coughed and Zidane felt a splatter on his face. He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand: his glove was stained with blood. "Kuja..." He stared up at him.   
  
Kuja felt a gag in his throat, he coughed and blood flew. He blinked in dazed confusion. He looked down; his body was covered in blood. He noticed the shock on Zidane's face, and the triumph on Vatica's. 'What happened? Am I...hurt?' His consciousness faded momentarily and he plummeted.   
  
Kuja dropped. Zidane ran to his side, "Kuja!"   
  
Kuja blinked, "Zidane...what are you doing here...you should go..."   
  
"No, I'm not going to desert you again. I left you at the Iifa Tree, I'm not going to do it again."  
  
"...That wasn't your fault. I died so you could live...and you did. Now don't make this death in vain..."   
  
"I'm not gonna leave you," he draped one of Kuja's arms around his shoulders and started to help him up.  
  
"No," Kuja made no effort to stand; "...don't you see? I was meant to die...my war is over..."  
  
"War?"  
  
"You're a funny person Zidane...All life is a war. You will fight it...and you will fight for it." Kuja paused to let the blood drain out of his mouth, "...you lose your friends and loved ones...you find pain and suffering...but there can be beauty. And in the end...you get peace...Let me have my peace."   
  
"I can't leave you here."  
  
"Yes you can...just walk away." Kuja closed his eyes, "I'm tired of fighting...I'm tired of being used..." He fell silent, but the blood that gurgled in his throat told that he was still alive. ".......I'm cold Zidane..." Then he let out a long sigh, and did not take another breath.   
  
Zidane laid Kuja back down. He sat down next to him. Zidane hugged his knees and buried his face in his arms. "I failed again..."   
  
"One down...four to go..." Vatica said darkly. "Finish them Apocalypse, I grow tired of this."   
  
Apocalypse raised his staff, but was basked in a white light. He turned skyward to see a blue pillar of light coming down on him. The dark god roared in fear, but soon he was completely surrounded in the glow. It spread until it encompassed the entirety of the throne room, blinding those watching.   
  
"No! It can't be!" Vatica shrieked. A shadow, five times the size of Alexandria Castle, appeared in the clouds above the Palace, "Alexander!" Vatica flew into the air as the Holy Eidolon descended. She fired any spell at her disposal, but it was useless. She screamed again as glowing manacles materialized around her wrists and ankles, "No! Alexander!"   
  
All eyes watched in awe as Alexander settled above them. He spread his magnificent wings and addressed them all, "Children of Gaia, I have heard your call. What was done shall be repaired. Holy Judgement shall be passed."   
  
Vatica wailed, "No! NO!" She struggled against the manacles; "I will have my revenge! I will have what I deserve!" She was surrounded by light.   
  
The Holy Eidolon shone his light on Vatica, "My judgement for you, fallen angel of darkness, is imprisonment, until you can learn." Alexander's voice thundered.   
  
Vatica struggled and hissed, "you! I swore my vengeance on you! And I will have it!"   
  
Alexander turned on her, "Be silent necromancer!"   
  
Vatica's eyes widened in rage, "'NECORMANCER'?! How dare you charge me with such a crime?! HOW DARE YOU?!"   
  
The Holy Eidolon basked her in his blue light and she screeched as she began to ascend back into the sky. He then showered his light on Kuja, "Angel of Death whose soul was lost, despite the crimes you have committed, I offer you a second chance."   
A translucent version of Kuja rose from his body. It was his soul, separated from him again. It glowed a golden hue. Alexander spoke to him "receive thy blessing." As everyone watched, long white wings spread from Kuja's back, his clothes became white also, trimmed in gold. A gentle aura came off him. He faced Alexander. "As one of my angels, you will watch over this troubled soul," the Holy Eidolon indicated Vatica, "until she is healed. Then, you will be allowed to return to the flow of life in Gaia: The cycle of rebirth. Watch over her, and the Phoenix will take you back. You have my apologies for all that you have suffered."   
  
  
Kuja examined himself; "you would have me be an angel?"   
  
"Yes, you will serve me, until I feel that you have earned your right of rebirth."   
  
"...Then I must...leave now?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"Answer me this: why must I be the one who will have to heal that snake Vatica?"   
  
"It is your punishment for those sins you committed in the past. Just because I grant you the privilege of serving me, does not meant that you will get away from Judgement. Consider it a mixed blessing."   
  
Kuja looked at Zidane, and the others, who had joined him. They stared open-mouthed. He stepped up to Zidane; "I will be leaving."   
  
Zidane snapped out of his daze, "w-what? Just like that? You're leaving?"  
  
"If that is the fate Alexander has chosen for me, then I must comply."   
  
"For you, young ones, may you live your lives in peace." Alexander began to fade.   
  
  
Good-byes:  
  
Kuja placed a hand on Zidane's shoulder, "I'll be watching over you too. Not as an angel of death this time though."   
  
"...I spent my whole life looking for my family," Zidane said slowly, "I was looking for people that didn't exist. And now when I find them, they go..."  
  
Kuja frowned, "don't be a hypocrite. You said yourself that 'family' is not necessarily the people who you share blood or background with, they're the people who you care about."   
  
"I know," Zidane said, "I just never saw this coming."   
  
"Neither did I."   
  
"Well, then...I guess I'll see you on the other side someday..."   
  
"Not anytime soon, alright?" Kuja smiled.   
  
"No." Zidane looked at the ground. There was quiet then he laughed, "ah, what the hell? C'mere." He gave his brother a hug, which he returned. They laughed at each other's show of emotion.   
  
"You know there's nothing I like more than watching two guys hug," Eiko put her hands on her hips, "but I'd like to go."   
  
Kuja stepped back, "well, good-bye for now." He started to walk into the light. After a few steps he stopped, "and Zidane? Will you do me a favor? Bury me."  
  
Zidane looked at Kuja's body, which he still held, "yeah...yeah, I'll do that."   
  
Kuja smiled and vanished into the light.   
  
  
~Fin~   
  
  
Little P.S. thingy from the author:   
This story reflects my views of modern society. All over there are people who need help and understanding, but those of us who could help, turn the other way. In a way we a like Dr. Frankenstein: we create these intelligent and dangerous beings, but rather than helping, we turn our heads in disgust. I tried to write it so that people can decide for themselves who's the villain. I really really tried to make it so that either you despise Vatica completely, or you can relate to her. Whatever.   
Sorry if it went a little fast, but I was trying to keep this a short story, for the sake of my own sanity. I cheesed the ending up cause I was getting sick of writing it.....Sorry.  
  
  
You wanna compliment, comment, or beat my head in with a stick? Feel free to give me a buzz.   



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